Looking for the Wrong Thing in the Wrong Place
a sermon based on John 20:1-18
by Rev. Randy L. Quinn

Before we read the text today, let's be clear about the setting. Jesus had been brought to court and sentenced to death. His death was to be by crucifixion, the normal means of execution.

But it was on a Friday. And with the setting of the sun, the Sabbath began. That fact complicated the burial.

Normally, there would be a time of preparing the body for burial. Today we would call it embalming the body. But since no one is to work after sunset, there was no time. There was only enough time to find a tomb and bury him.

Most of the people went to worship the next day, not unlike we are today. The fact that people have died this week didn't keep us home. We came to church.

And most of us will go somewhere after church to eat or to celebrate Easter with family. And when Monday comes, we will go back to the normal routines and activities of our lives.

Mary is on her first errand of the new week. She has decided that the first thing to do is to bring the appropriate spices for Jesus' body (Mk 16:1). It is completing what should have happened before he was buried.

It's not unlike my list for tomorrow which includes a trip into town to buy some oil for our lawn mower. I should have done that on Friday, but I didn't get to it. So I'll do it first thing tomorrow morning.

We can only imagine what was going on in her mind as Mary set out for the cemetery that morning. She knew there was a stone placed over the entrance to the tomb, but that didn't seem to concern her (Mk 15:46-47).

Perhaps she thought someone would meet her there. Or maybe she was so focussed on her task that it hadn't occurred to her that the stone was in the way.

I've done things like that. When my parents are gone from home, I'll often check on the house. And I can't tell you how many trips I've made the trip to Oak Harbor only to realize that I forgot the key and had to come back home.

Maybe she was thinking about the Roman soldiers who were guarding the tomb because they were afraid the Disciples might steal the body (Mt 27:62-66). It would seem strange to her that anyone would steal his body, but I wonder if it was on her mind.

I suppose it could also be that she was remembering a time when Jesus came to a tomb. It was the tomb of his friend Lazarus. That day Jesus simply called his name and Lazarus was raised from the dead (Jn 11:38-44).

Maybe each of these stories and other things had crossed her mind. Whatever was on her mind, she was not prepared for what actually happened when she got there:

Read John 20:1-18

It's funny how we see what we expect to see sometimes, and sometimes we don't see something because it isn't expected. A few years ago a study was done that pointed that out clearly. People were given ten puzzles to solve, then without grading them at all, half were told that they got 8 right, half were told they only got 3 right. Then they were given ten more puzzles. These puzzles were actually scored. The half that expected to do well, actually did better than the others.

Their expectations radically affected their performance. And in the same way, what we expect to see is what we tend to see.

Seeing the stone moved, Mary hadn't thought, "O look, someone took care of removing the stone for me!" Instead, she is frightened when she realized it wasn't where it was supposed to be. Without even looking in the tomb, she became concerned that she couldn't do what she came to do!

When she comes back later, she isn't expecting to see Jesus, so she sees a gardener instead.

When Peter comes to the tomb, he too sees what he was expecting to see. Peter is convinced that the body has been stolen. And he leaves confused, disappointed, and saddened. The tragedy of the crucifixion was bad enough without this further insult.

But the problem wasn't the empty tomb. The problem was what they were looking for.

A few weeks ago, I had just arrived at Allen after the service at Blanchard. I was putting my notes on the pulpit when I remembered that I had left the Moments of Friendship pads on the back table. So I went down to get them. I said “hello” to a few people who had arrived early and went into the Narthex.

When I got there, I couldn't remember what I was looking for. I greeted a few more people. I looked at the clock. Most Sundays I wind the clock before I leave for Blanchard, and I realized I hadn't wound the clock.

But I still couldn't remember what I was looking for. I went back into the sanctuary, hoping something would remind me what I was looking for.

I finally decided it must have been the clock I meant to wind. So I wound the clock and joined the choir for prayer.

Two days later I realized what I had forgotten.

I was looking in the Narthex for something that was in the sanctuary. I didn't know what I was looking for, so I couldn't find it.

Maybe that's happened to you, too. How many times do I find myself in a room, wondering what I'm looking for or what I'm doing here?

And in those moments I've learned if you don't know what you're looking for, it's not likely you'll find it.

My mother tells the story of when she was doing housekeeping for a woman. Her boss told her to get the cantaloupe out of the refrigerator.

Mom didn't know what a cantaloupe was, but she decided it must be something she'd never seen before. So she went looking for the cantaloupe. She recognized everything in the refrigerator, so she figured her boss made a mistake.

She went back and explained that she couldn't find it.

Her boss, who apparently was easily irritated, shook her head, huffed her way into the kitchen and pulled the muss melon out of the refrigerator.

If you don't know what you're looking for, you aren't likely to find it, even when it's right in front of you.

Peter and Mary came to the tomb expecting to find a corpse. When it wasn't there, they were confused.

When John arrives at the tomb, he is looking for resurrection. He sees the cloths and walks away believing that Jesus was raised from the dead (Jn 20:8).

The question his story raises for us is simply, "what are you expecting to see today?" Some pretty flowers? People wearing new clothes? An Easter bunny with eggs?

Or are you looking for an empty tomb?

Depending upon what you're looking for, you may need to look in the right place. All you're going to find here is a risen savior.  Amen.